Bernard "Lefty" Kreh, the iconic persona of American fly fishing, passed away at his Cockeysville, Md., home today after battling congestive heart failure and declining health in recent months. He was 93.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Kreh returned to his Maryland roots and began to guide freshwater anglers to the smallmouth bass riches on the upper Potomac River during the late 1940s.
One of those outings was with famous angler and eventual Outdoor Life fishing editor Joe Brooks. During that oft described 1947 outing, Brooks out fished Kreh using a fly rod, sealing the trajectory for Kreh's life and career. Friends until Brooks' death in 1972, Kreh always referred to Brooks as the mentor for his career.
In the years that followed, Kreh became a nationally recognized expert in fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying, photography and outdoor writing. During his writing career, Kreh authored more than two dozen books, including one entitled Fly Fishing for Bass: Smallmouth, Largemouth, and Exotics, and countless newspaper and magazine stories. Along the way, he would serve as an outdoors writer and columnist for several newspapers including the Baltimore Sun, the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald.
While Kreh fished for glamorous species around the globe, he always enjoyed returning to his Eastern Seaboard roots and fishing for the smallmouth that call the area's streams and rivers home. A good friend with fellow fly fishing and fly-tying icon Bob Clouser, Kreh would also make his mark behind the fly tying vise, too.
While Pennsylvania's Clouser is best known for coming up with the well-known Clouser Minnow, Kreh is equally well known for his famed Lefty's Deceiver, a fly that the U.S. Postal Service immortalized on a stamp in 1991.
With arguably the sport's most notable and historic resume, Kreh has reportedly been honored with numerous awards, including the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the American Sportfishing Association, the "Lifetime Contribution Award" by the North American Fly Tackle Trade Association, and being named "Angler of the Year" by Fly Rod and Reel magazine in 1997. Kreh was also inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame along with the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.
All of this, including being known virtually worldwide by a single nickname - Lefty, helps to explain the massive legacy that Kreh leaves behind on the sport of fly fishing specifically and fishing in general.
Kreh was preceded in death by his wife Evelyn in 2011. The New York Times' obituary about Kreh indicates that he is survived by his son Larry Kreh, daughter Victoria Huffman, brother Richard Kreh, half-brother Michael Baumgardner, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
By Lynn Burkhead
OSG Senior Digital Editor
